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Don Davis

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Don Davis has been the Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau chief since 2001, covering state government and politics for two dozen newspapers in the state. Don also blogs at Capital Chatter on Areavoices.

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ST. PAUL -- A five-judge Minnesota panel plans to release new congressional and legislative district maps at 1 p.m. Tuesday. The courts earlier had refused to announce a release date, but on Monday said the maps will be available at www.mncourts.gov under a "special redistricting panel" link. Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea established the judicial panel last year in case the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton did not agree on a redistricting plan.

ST. PAUL -- The most important day of the 2012 Minnesota legislative session, for some at least, could be Tuesday. That is the day when a state judicial panel is expected to release new legislative and congressional district maps.

ST. PAUL -- School officials could lay off teachers based on their effectiveness rather than just how long they have taught under a bill Minnesota representatives approved 68-61 Thursday. "We have an urgency," Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, said. "We have students waiting for an answer to why they are not learning at the level where they should." The bill would not begin the new policy until 2016.

ST. PAUL -- White Earth Nation's proposal to build a Twin Cities casino that could help fund a new Vikings stadium received little support from key policymakers Thursday after the tribe's leader said it would be the best option for Minnesotans. A casino operated by the tribe could be a fall-back plan, but probably not this year, the chief Minnesota House stadium proponent said. "They are not in play right now," Rep.

ST. PAUL -- A White Earth Nation proposal to build a Twin Cities casino that could help fund a new stadium is the most acceptable plan to help the Minnesota Vikings and state government, the tribe's chairwoman says. "This is the only solution that is fair to all Minnesotans," Chairwoman Erma Vizenor said today. An earlier estimate indicated a new Twin Cities casino could produce $300 million profit a year, which Vizenor said would be split between the tribe and the state.

ST. PAUL -- The White Earth Nation's chairwoman plans on Thursday to announce details of a proposal to build a Twin Cities casino that could provide funding to build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium. The announcement follows December comments by Chairwoman Erma Vizenor, who said White Earth and the state could split the estimated $300 million annual profits. Also, she said, the casino could provide $10 million new state taxes annually. An informal committee headed by Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, and Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, is looking into building a stadium.

ST. PAUL -- Sen. LeRoy Stumpf offered a confession to the Senate Transportation Committee. The Plummer Democrat said he sometimes speeds while traveling his northwest Minnesota district. "I bring this bill to you on behalf of all the guilty people across the state of Minnesota," Stumpf said Tuesday.

ST. PAUL -- Minnesota teachers should know basic reading, writing and math skills before taking over classrooms, a bill the House unanimously passed Monday declares. Current law gives new teachers three years to pass the basic skills test, allowing them to teach students during that time. Before a 132-0 vote in favor of her bill, Rep.

ST. PAUL -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is putting up $1,000 for anyone who can find a voter fraud case in the past decade that could have been avoided by a proposed constitutional amendment requiring voters to show a photographic identification card before casting ballots. The ACLU thinks it is a safe bet. "There is no voter impersonation fraud in Minnesota," declared Minnesota ACLU Executive Director Charles Samuelson. The Republican-supported voter ID bill is expected to pass a Senate committee on Wednesday and appears likely to go on the Nov.